After this, you are to follow him back here, and he is to come and sit on my throne and take my place as king, because I've appointed him to be Commander-in-Chief over Israel and Judah."

All the people followed after him, playing on wind pipes and so full of joy that the earth shook because of all the noise!

Be gracious to the descendants of Barzillai the Gileadite, and provide for them in your household, because they helped me when I had to run from your brother Absalom.

So he replied, "You know that the kingdom should have come to me, and that everyone in Israel intended to place me as the next king. However, the kingdom has turned around and now belongs to my brother, because it went to him from the LORD.

The king also told Abiathar the priest, "Go home to Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I won't kill you today, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David and because you shared all the troubles that my father went through."

The LORD will repay him for his bloodshed because, without my father David's consent he attacked and murdered two men more righteous and better than he, Ner's son Abner, the commander of Israel's army and Jether's son Amasa, commander of Judah's army.

The people were sacrificing at various high places because the Temple had not yet been built and dedicated to the LORD.

"Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life for yourself, and you didn't ask for the lives of your enemies, but instead you've asked for discernment so you can understand how to govern, look how I'm going to do precisely what you asked. I'm giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.

This woman's son died overnight because she laid on top of him.

The woman whose child was still alive cried out to the king, because her heart yearned for her son. "Oh no, your majesty!" she said. "Give her the living child. Please don't kill him." But the other woman said, "Cut him in half! That way, he'll belong to neither one of us."

When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at the king, because they all saw that God's wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice.

King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he learned that Solomon had been anointed king to replace his father, because Hiram had been David's lifelong friend.

"You know that my father David was unable to build a temple dedicated to the LORD his God because he was busy fighting wars all around him until the LORD defeated his enemies.

Now therefore please order that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, because you know there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians do."

Solomon never inventoried the weight of the bronze used, because there were too many utensils, so the weight of the bronze used was never ascertained.

so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, since the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's Temple.

"Therefore, since you determined to build a temple for my name, you acted well, because it was your choice to do so. Nevertheless, you are not to build the Temple, but your son who will be born to you is to build a temple for my name.'

"If your people Israel are defeated in a battle with their enemy because they have sinned against you, when they return to you and confess to you, pray, and in this Temple they ask you to show grace to them,

"When heaven remains closed, and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray in the direction of this place, confessing your name and turning from their sin when you afflict them,

"When they sin against you because there isn't a single human being who doesn't sin and you become angry with them and deliver them over to their enemy, who takes them away captive to the land that belongs to their enemy, whether near or far away,

because you have separated them to yourself as your heritage from all the people of the earth, as you spoke through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Lord GOD.

That same day, the king consecrated the middle court that stood in front of the LORD's Temple, because that was where he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat from the peace offerings and because the bronze altar that was in the LORD's presence was too small to hold the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat from the peace offerings.

They will answer, "Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and served them. That's why the Lord has brought all of this disaster on them.'"

after which King Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in the land of Galilee, because King Hiram of Tyre had provided Solomon with as much cedar, cypress timber, and gold that he wanted.

and whose descendants had survived them and continued to live in the land because the Israelis were unable to completely eliminate them, Solomon placed under conscripted labor, a situation that remains in effect to this day.

And blessed be the LORD your God, who is delighted with you! He set you in place on the throne of Israel because the LORD loved Israel forever. That's why he made you to be king, so you could carry out justice and implement righteousness."

All of King Solomon's drinking vessels were made of gold, and all the vessels in his palace in the Lebanon forest were made of pure gold. None were of silver, because silver was never considered to be valuable during Solomon's lifetime,

because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram's ships. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

all of them from nations that the LORD had ordered the Israelis, "You are not to associate with them and they are not to associate with you, because they will most certainly turn your affections away to follow their gods." Solomon became deeply attached to them by falling in love.

because as Solomon grew older, his wives turned his affections away after other gods, and his heart was not fully as devoted to the LORD his God as his father David's heart had been.

The LORD became angry at Solomon because his heart wandered away from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice

so the LORD told Solomon, "Because you have done this and haven't kept my covenant and statutes that I commanded you, I'm going to tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.

Jeroboam was a valiant soldier, and because Solomon observed that the young man was able to get things done, he set him in charge over all of the conscripted labor from the household of Joseph.

Then he told Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, because this is what the LORD God of Israel says:

I'm doing this because they have abandoned me and worshipped that Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They haven't lived my way by doing what I consider to be right and observing my statutes and my ordinances, like his father David did.

"Nevertheless, I won't take the entire kingdom away from him, but I'll let him reign for the rest of his life, because of my servant David, whom I chose, who obeyed my commandments and statutes,

This is how I'm going to afflict David's descendants because of what they have done, though I won't do it continuously.'"

Rehoboam traveled to Shechem because all of Israel went there to install him as king.

But the king gave the people a harsh response, because he was ignoring the counsel that his elders had given him.

The king would not listen to the people, because the turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill his prediction that the LORD spoke by means of Ahijah the Shilonite to Nebat's son Jeroboam

"This is what the LORD says: "You are not to fight or even approach your fellow Israelis in battle. Every soldier is to return to his own home, because this development comes from me."'" So they listened to what the LORD had to say and returned home, just as the LORD had directed.

Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols.

because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'"

because I've been given a command in the form of this message from the LORD: "You are to eat no food, drink no water, and do not return to Judah by traveling the way by which you go there.'"

so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do,

because what he predicted by a message from the LORD against the altar in Bethel and the temples built in the high places of the cities of Samaria will certainly come about."

So that's what Jeroboam's wife did. She got up, went to Shiloh, and found Ahijah's home. Ahijah was blind, because his eyes could not focus due to his age.

Meanwhile, the LORD had spoken to Ahijah, "Be on your guard! Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he is ill. You're to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else!"

"I will burn up Jeroboam's dynasty, as a man burns up manure until it is gone. Dogs will eat anyone who dies in the city that belongs to Jeroboam's household. The birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the open field, because the LORD has determined it.'

Everyone in Israel will mourn for him and will bury him, because he alone from Jeroboam's family will receive a decent burial, because something good was observed in him with respect to the LORD God of Israel out of all the household of Jeroboam!

The LORD will attack Israel, and Israel will shake like a reed shakes in a river current! He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and he will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they erected their Asherim and provoked the LORD to become angry!

He will give up Israel because of Jeroboam's sins that he committed and by which Jeroboam caused Israel to sin."

because David had practiced what the LORD considered to be right. He never avoided anything that the LORD had commanded him during his entire lifetime, except for the case of Uriah the Hittite.

He removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah. Asa cut down his mother's idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook.

because of the sins that Jeroboam had committed, and because he led Israel into sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to become angry.

In addition, a message from the LORD came through Hanani's son Jehu the prophet against Baasha and his household, not only because of all of the things that Baasha did that the LORD considered to be evil, including provoking the LORD to anger by what he did and by being like the household of Jeroboam, but also because Baasha had destroyed Jeroboam's household.

because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had committed and because of what they did to lead Israel into sin, thus provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idolatry.

because of the sins that he committed by doing what the LORD considered to be evil, living like Jeroboam did, and sinning so as to lead Israel into sin.

But after a while, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

because this is what the LORD God of Israel says: "That jar of flour will not run out, nor will that bottle of oil become empty until the very day that the LORD sends rain on the surface of the ground.'"

But Elijah replied, "I'm no destroyer of Israel. But you and your ancestor's household have been doing that, because you have abandoned the LORD's commandments and have followed the Baals.

After this, Elijah told Ahab, "Get up and have something to eat and drink, because there's the sound of a coming rainstorm."

and ran for a day's journey deep into the wilderness. He found a juniper tree, sat down under it, and prayed that he could die. He asked God, "Enough! LORD! Take my life, because I'm not better than my ancestors!"

The prophet approached the king of Israel and told him, "Go replenish your forces and prepare for the future, because early this next year the king of Aram will attack you again."

Right about then, a man of God approached and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: "Because the Arameans keep saying "The LORD is a mountain god, but isn't a valley god," I'm going to deliver this entire vast army right into your control, so you'll learn that I really am the LORD.'"

so he told him, "Because you haven't obeyed the LORD's voice, as soon as you leave here, a lion will kill you." As soon as the man left, a lion found him and killed him.

He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: "Because you let the man whom I had dedicated to destruction go free, therefore your life is to be forfeited for his life, and your people for his people.'"

Ahab went back to his palace, sullen and in a foul mood, because Naboth the Jezreelite had turned down Ahab's offer by saying "I will not transfer my ancestors' inheritance to you!" He laid down on his bed, curled up with his face to the wall, and refused to eat.

But Elijah answered, "I've found you because you sold yourself to do what the LORD considers to be evil! Now pay attention! I'm going to send evil in your direction! I will completely sweep you away and eliminate from Ahab every male, whether indentured servant or free, throughout Israel.

I will make your household resemble that of Nebat's son Jeroboam, or like the household of Ahijah's son Baasha, because of how you've provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin.

It can be truly said that no one else sold himself to practice what the LORD considered to be evil quite like the way Ahab did, because his wife Jezebel incited him.

"Have you noticed that Ahab has humbled himself in my presence? Because he has humbled himself in my presence, I will not bring his evil to harvest during his lifetime, but I will bring evil to his household during his son's lifetime."

So the king of Israel called in about 400 prophets and asked them, "Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?" "Go attack them," they all said, "because the Lord will drop them right into the king's hand!"

"There is still one man left by whom we could ask the LORD what to do," the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, "but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me. Instead, he prophesies evil. He is Imla's son Micaiah." But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, "Kings should never talk like that."

All the other prophets were saying similar things, like "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!"

When Micaiah approached the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?" "Go to war," Micaiah replied, "and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!"

"Now therefore, listen! The LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the LORD has determined to bring disaster upon you."

Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the scales where his armor breastplates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, "Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I've been severely wounded."

Jehoshaphat had ocean-going vessels from Tarshish sail to Ophir for gold, but they never made it because they were shipwrecked at Ezion-geber.